From grains to green leaves
The tobacco grains are planted in specially developed zones called semilleros. This germination phase lasts only a few days and it permits the grains to develop into seedlings in a protected area.
After they have become strong enough, the homogenous seedlings are transplanted in the production fields. The transplantation operation, which is manually done for the black tobacco plants, permits the realization of a homogenously dense tobacco plantation.
The cultivators subject the young tobacco plants to different treatments
during their growth period. These treatments, which are characteristic
for all the plants cultivated, include fertilizer application, irrigation,
and the control of light. But the tobacco plants are also given special
treatments that regulate their growth. These include:
- Desbotonado : this operation involves nipping off the flower
buds. Actually, this action determines the number of final utilisable
leaves (16 to 18) per plant. It also exercises some positive effects on
the chemical composition of the leaves since it reallocates to the leaves,
the nutritive substances that were originally destined to the flowers.
- Deshije
: this operation consists of plucking off miniature leaves that developed
as a result of the desbotonado operation. These leaves, often located
at the base of normal leaves, are removed for the same reason as advanced
in desbotonado.
Both desbotonado and deshije are highly important operations in tobacco farming. The physical and chemical properties of the tobacco plants and, thus, the final aromatic characteristics of the leaves all depend on the way and manner these operations are carried out.
Some
specific culture practices, like the reduction of light intensity, vary
according to the destination (or use) of the tobacco leaf. 
If
the leaves are to be used as binders and fillers, the plants are grown
under full sunshine and are referred-to as tabaco de sol. The objective
here is to obtain leaves that have good chemical composition and that
will determine the aromatic properties of the cigar. In effect, the more
aromatic the leaves are, the more likely they are to satisfy the demanding
taste of cigar smokers.
But if the tobacco leaves are meant to serve as wrappers, they are cultivated in shades and are called tabaco tapado. The cheese cloth used as shade protects the fields by filtering solar radiation, while permitting the transformation of physical and chemical properties of the leaves.
Shading augments the dimensions of the leaves, but reduces their thickness. The leaves of plants grown in shades are pale-green and have less prominent venation. Such leaves also have high elasticity and better combustibility, but their chemical composition is reduced and, hence, they are less aromatic.
Harvesting
is the last phase in the cultivation of tobacco plants. The green leaves
are harvested at maturity. The leaves are progressively harvested one
by one as they mature - the older leaves are harvested earlier than the
younger ones. The tobacco leaves are, therefore, harvested from a plant
progressively from bottom to top. For a total of 16 to 18 harvested leaves
per plant, between 6 and 8 cups are realized within 3 to 7 days time interval.
Each cup contains then an average of 2 to 3 tobacco leaves.